Birdie and the Beast
by Chocolateismylover
Summary: Matthew Williams just wanted one person to notice him. Prince Gilbert Beilschmidt just wanted to break the spell that had turned him an unawesome beast. Could the two ever find love? Rated T for language and some mild sexual implications
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia though I might wish with all my might otherwise.**

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince ruled a vast empire. Although he was "awesome" in every sense of the word, the prince was immature, arrogant, and narcissistic.

But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to his castle and offered him a cornflower in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Revolted by her unawesomeness, the prince scoffed at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for true beauty and power are found within.

When he laughed and dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress wielding a magical skillet. The prince quickly realized his mistake and tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that he had no love in his heart for anyone but himself. As punishment, she struck him with her skillet and transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there.

The enchantress transported the castle far away and hid it in the midst of a dark forest. In the time to come, the prince's younger brother would rule the empire in his place.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The cornflower she had offered was actually enchanted, and would bloom for many years. If he could learn to love another and be loved in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love something as unawesome as a beast?


	2. Chapter 1

"Mattie! Hey Mattie! Dude, come on, wake up!" a loud boisterous voice boomed.

"Mattie," better known as Matthew Williams, woke up with a start and glared at the source of his interrupted rest, also known as his annoying older twin, Alfred.

"Alfred, it's really early, why did you have to wake me up, eh?" he groaned, stifling a yawn.

"Sorry bro, but we're out of food. Can you please go down to the village and buy something to eat? I'm starving!" Alfred whined.

"You're always hungry. Can't you go yourself?"

"No can do, I'm busy with my research. Come on, please, please, PLEEEEASE?" Matthew tried to ignore Alfred's big puppy dog eyes and sighed.

"Fine."

"Really? Thanks dude!" Alfred practically zoomed out of Matthew's bedroom. Where on earth did he get all of that energy anyway?

Matthew stood up and polished his glasses, putting them on and looking at himself in the mirror.

Although Matthew and Alfred were twins they did not look exactly alike. It's true they were both the same height and build and that they both needed glasses. But while they both had blond hair, Matthew's was wavier, and slightly longer. Both had an odd strand of hair that stuck out, but while Alfred's was short and stuck straight up out of his hair, Matthew's was long and curled in front of his face. The biggest difference however was that Alfred had blue eyes while Matthew's eyes were a violet.

The brothers also differed in their personalities. While Alfred was noisy, outgoing, and energetic, Matthew was calm, shy, and so quiet that it was rare to hear him speak above a whisper.

Matthew and Alfred did not share the same last name, due to being raised by different parents so while Matthew had the last name Williams, Alfred's surname was Jones.

Matthew finished getting dressed, grabbed a basket that contained a book he needed to return the bookkeeper, and headed outside.

Once he finally set foot outdoors, Matthew didn't regret waking up at all. The weather was surprising warm for late fall. The sun shone brightly and birds chirped merrily from the trees that grew at the side of the path leading to the village.

The village itself was very small town, with small minded people to go with it. Was it really that hard to see him, let alone distinguish him from his brother or remember his name?

Not wanting to deal with these thoughts so early in the day, Matthew shook them off as he made his way down the streets where the people were beginning to set up shop and say their hellos to each other.

Catching sight of the baker, Matthew hurried up to him. "Excuse me, I would like to buy some bread."

The baker didn't appear to hear him so Matthew repeated his request but slightly louder without any success. It was only a tap on the shoulder that would make the baker look at him.

"Oh, sorry I didn't see you there."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Matthew murmured, trying to shrug it off. "I need to purchase some loaves of bread," he said once more.

After buying some bread along with a few baguettes, Matthew continued on his way to the bookshop. Not looking where he was going, he accidentally bumped into someone going in the opposite direction.

"I'm sorry." Matthew apologized, helping the person up picking up their things. The man only looked at him confused.

Realizing what the man was thinking, Matthews tried not to look annoyed as he answered calmly.

"I'm Matthew Williams, Alfred's brother? We've met before…" the man only shrugged and kept going.

The bookshop was a welcome sight. Matthew let himself in and saw the bookkeeper, Kiku Honda, look up from a large volume written in a language that Matthew couldn't read. He stood up and bowed as he greeted Matthew.

"Good Morning, Mr. Williams," he said, a strong Japanese accent audible in his voice.

"Good Morning, Mr. Honda. I wanted to return the book I borrowed."

"Already done?"

"'Yeah, I couldn't put it down. Do you have any new books?"

"Not since that one you just finished I'm afraid."

"That's okay." Matthew's eyes skimmed the bookshelves until he found what he was looking for. "I'll borrow this one," he announced (well as much as you can announce if you have a soft voice), holding out a book with a well-worn cover that had clearly been read many times.

"That one?" Kiku raised an eyebrow. "You have borrowed it twice already."

"It's my favorite book!" Matthew explained. "Far away countries, daring swordfights, magic, and adventure! What more could you ask for?"

"Well, if that's the case, you can keep it."

"Really?" Matthew's eyes widened. "You don't have to. Are you sure?"

"I insist."

"Wow! Thank you so much!"

Matthew started reading his new book the moment he left the shop not even looking up once until he reached the fountain at the center of the town where he could sit down and read in peace. He would have stayed too except a sheep that had stopped by to drink from the fountain chewed off the corner of a page. And he had just gotten to his favorite part too…

Abandoning the fountain with the thought of going home and reading there, Matthew began walking down the street again.

"Hello Matthew," said a voice from in front of him and the book disappeared from his hands. Matthew looked up to meet the gaze of a man with gravity defying hair and a childish grin.

"Hey Matthias." Matthew replied quietly. "Will you please give me back my book?"

Matthias ignored him, flipping through the pages. "How on earth can you read this? There are too many words in here and no pictures at all."

"Well, um, actually I just use my imagination. That's what most people with a brain do." Matthias missed the veiled insult.

"Matthew you have got to do something better with your life than boring stuff like reading." Matthias pointed at himself. "For instance you can hang out with me,the king."

From behind them, Matthew thought he heard a group of girls sighing as though entranced. Matthias Kohler WAS handsome, no one could dispute that. Several women (as well as a few men) had their eye on him. But if Matthew was to be honest, he found Matthias really annoying even though he was one of the few people who actually remembered him on a regular basis. Just the way that he automatically assumed that Matthew would want to be with him and his rude attitude toward others made him unlikable.

"Come on Matthew. There are WAY more manly things you could be doing than reading." He grabbed Matthew shoulder and started to drag him, perhaps not realizing how uncomfortable this was to the other man. "Like drinking for example. Why don't we go to the bar and you can look at my hunting trophies?"

"Matthias you are so…" Matthew paused trying to think of a word. "…primitive."

"Why thank you." Matthew facepalmed and tried to squirm away.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I have to get back home. Alfred and I haven't had breakfast yet and then I need to help him with his research."

"Alfred? That guy who calls himself 'the hero?' That weirdo certainly needs help!" Matthew hadn't realized that Peter, Matthias' self-proclaimed sidekick was here too. God knows why that boy was hanging around a guy like Matthias.

Matthias was laughing with Peter and Matthew was getting annoyed. "Please don't talk about Alfred like that." Matthias (somehow) caught onto Matthew's annoyance.

"Yeah Peter, be nice when talking about Alfred."

The kid was confused "But I-" He was silenced by Matthias smacking his arm.

"Alfred's not weird. In fact he IS a hero." Matthew said proudly.

Right before a loud CRASH was heard coming from Matthew's house and he could see a large cloud of dust rising.

Matthew tried in vain to ignore Matthias and Peter's obnoxious laughter as he ran home as fast as he could.


	3. Chapter 2

Pushing his way through the crowded street, Matthew made his way back home with more that a few whispers of "Who is that?" and "Isn't that Alfred Jones?" following him.

By the time he finally reached home, the dust cloud had settled and Matthew could immediately see what had caused it. A large oak lay on its side next to the side of the house, which had suffered a lot of damage from the tree. Alfred kicked the tree and swore at the top of his lungs.

"DAMMIT! I'm never going to prove that aliens exist!" Alfred's kick was so powerful that the oak rolled into another tree and almost toppled that one too. For reasons unbeknownst to Matthew, both he and Alfred were gifted (or bothered depending upon how you looked at it) with immense strength. As a child, Alfred had once even wrestled with a fully-grown buffalo…and won. Judging from what he saw, Matthew inferred that Alfred had become frustrated and ripped out the oak by the roots, accidentally throwing it into the side of the house.

"What happened, Alfred?" Matthew asked, trying to calm him down enough to stop him from uprooting any more trees. The villagers already thought Alfred was crazy for believing that aliens existed. If they knew about his strength too, who knew what they would do?

"I'm sorry bro, but I was getting really pissed off from reading fake reports about people who claim they've seen little green aliens when EVERYONE knows that they're actually gray! That, and I'm hungry. By the way did you get something to eat?" It was amazing how easily the subject of food could distract Alfred.

"Huh? Oh yeah, here you go." Matthew handed Alfred a loaf of bread and took one for himself. Within seconds Alfred had finished and was begging for more. Sometimes Matthew wondered if Alfred had a bottomless pit instead of a stomach.

Personally, Matthew would have preferred to have pancakes for breakfast (especially with maple syrup…mmm), but he finished his bread anyway. When both of them had finished eating, Matthew tried to comfort his brother.

"Hey, it's okay. You'll prove that aliens exist one day. Who knows? Maybe the evidence is right under our noses." Alfred looked down as if taking Matthew's words literally and then leapt up in surprise.

"Hey Mattie! There's something buried in the ground! I think it's metal." Alfred exclaimed and began digging. Matthew joined him and with the combined efforts of the two extremely strong boys, they soon unearthed what appeared to be a huge hunk of metal.

"Wow. That is so cool." Alfred said in an awed voice. He began walking around it and examining it. He tapped the side and his eyes widened when he heard an echo.

"No way! It's hollow!" he then furrowed his brow. "I don't think I've seen a metal like this before." He picked up a piece of the metal…thing that had fallen off and took a close look at it. It was paper-thin but he couldn't tear it, even with all of his great strength. Taking a knife out of his pocket, he was able to cut into the metal, but to his surprise the rip closed up in front of his very eyes!

Needing more proof, Matthew took the sheet of metal from Alfred and crumpled it up, only to have it spring back into its original form. Alfred was practically bursting with excitement.

"Do you realize what this means Mattie? This is one the greatest scientific discoveries of all time! This'll show those idiots who doubted me that I'm the Hero! I found a spaceship, definite proof of life in space! That settles it. I'm going to the Science Convention in the big city. You want to come with me?"

As exciting as Alfred's discovery was, Matthew didn't like big cities. It meant an even bigger chance of him being forgotten.

"No thanks, Alfred. I'll stay here and take care of things. Come on, I'll move this onto a wagon and hitch it up to Kumajika…Kumakichi…Whatever that horse's name is." Matthew could never remember what he had originally named the shaggy white horse he had gotten as a child. Sometimes Matthew could swear that the horse would look at him as if he couldn't remember Matthew's name either, and would cock its head as if to say, "Who are you, again?"

After making sure that Alfred had everything he needed, Matthew saddled Kuma-whatshisface, before saying goodbye to Alfred.

"Bye Alfred. Good luck!"

"Bye Mattie! Don't get into trouble while I'm gone because I can't be your hero if I'm not here!"

Matthew rolled his eyes and went back inside to continue reading his book.

***  
For a few miles, Alfred's trip was relatively uneventful. The scenery was beautiful with its rolling hills and wide stretches of fields and meadows and the proud mountains rising in the far distance.

Checking his map, Alfred noticed a shortcut to his destination through the forest that was only a little out of the way of his intended path. Admittedly few people knew much about the dark forest, and more superstitious folk claimed that strange things happened there. Alfred personally didn't believe in such things as fairies and other magical creatures. Besides he was a hero. Heroes were supposed to brave and go into these kinds of place.

But after traveling a little while in the woods, Alfred began to get a little nervous and started talking out loud to Kumajiro. (How could Mattie not remember that name?)  
"We should be there by now. Maybe I missed a turn or something? This probably wasn't the best idea." He stopped Kumajiro abruptly when he saw a signpost at a fork in the road. His hopes were dashed when he saw the letters on the signs had faded and were no longer legible.

Hang on… Alfred looked at his map more closely. "Oh crap! This is the wrong map. I'm lost," he groaned. "Might as well take one of the roads here."

The road to the right was dark due to the amount of trees growing close together. It was almost eerily quiet and a low mist only enforced the creepy imagery. The road to the left was brighter and birds could be heard chirping. Instinctively, Kumajiro began moving to the left only to be held back by Alfred.

"Stop it, let's go this way." Alfred suggested, steering Kumajiro to the right. "I think that's the way back out of the woods. When Kumajiro tried to resist, Alfred yanked on the reigns more firmly. "Come on, it's a shortcut. With any luck, we'll be at the city in no time."

Kumajiro obeyed, trotting forward with trepidation, whinnying nervously as the day turned into night and a chilly wind rustled the leaves.

After about an hour of wandering aimlessly, Kumajiro heard something move in the distance. Alfred was oblivious to the horse's distress, until he backed up into a tree, disturbing a flock of bats that had been roosting there.

Frightened by the black shapes swooping around him, Kumajiro broke into a gallop, despite Alfred's attempts to calm him. "Whoa, calm down dude!"

This failed to have any effect, and instead, Kumajiro reared up and Alfred fell off his back only to see Kumajiro galloping away into the mist.

"Kumajiro!" Alfred called after the horse in vain, before standing up and dusting himself off. Above his head, thunder rumbled. Just his luck, Alfred thought, to be lost in the forest without his horse during a thunderstorm. Could things get any worse?

Apparently they could. In the distance a wolf howled and Alfred could make out the gleam of yellow eyes watching him. The young man couldn't do anything but run for his life, almost tripping over his own feet as he ran from the pack.

Alfred thanked his lucky stars when he saw a giant iron wrought gate, which he was able to open. He slipped behind the gate and closed it just in time before the wolves had reached it.

He turned around to see what the gate had guarded and his jaw dropped. In front of him was an immense castle. Alfred barely had enough time to take it all in before rain began pouring down, soaking him almost instantly. He ran to the door and began knocking on it relentlessly until it creaked open. And about time too, Alfred thought. He would have broken down the door if he had been forced to wait any longer.

Alfred went inside and found himself in a large entrance hall with a high ceiling and a smooth paved floor. To his left, a lit candelabra and a clock stood on a table against the wall. Alfred closed the door behind him and called out tentatively. "Hello?"

No answer.

"Hello?" he called out louder, and he thought he heard a voice.

"Poor fellow must 'ave lost 'is way in ze woods."

"Keep quiet." Another voice hissed. "Maybe he'll go away."

"Is someone there?" Alfred asked, hoping the voices weren't a hallucination.

"Not a word, Francis, don't say a single word." The second voice said warningly.

"Look, I just need somewhere to crash tonight. I lost my horse and I think I'm lost too." Alfred said. The first voice seemed to be more welcoming so he hoped he could appeal to that one.

"Oh, Arthur, 'ave a 'eart." Alfred heard a "shush" and what sounded like scuffling before one of the voices yelped in pain and the first voice spoke loudly enough for Alfred to hear clearly.

"Of course Monsieur, you are welcome 'ere." Alfred grabbed the candelabra from the table and held it out, looking for source of the voice.

"Over 'ere." the voice said, now sounding very close. Alfred turned around but there was no one behind him.

"Where-?" Alfred felt something tap his head and he looked to see that the candelabra had a face. " 'allo" it said.

"AHHHH" screamed Alfred as he dropped the candelabra. "OH MY GOD IT'S POSSESSED BY A GHOST LIKE IN THOSE STORIES MATTIE TELLS ME AT NIGHT AAHHH!" Alfred continued babbling in fear and curled up into a ball rocking back and forth. He was absolutely TERRIFIED of ghosts.

The clock that had stood next to the candelabra leapt off the table and ran over to the candelabra and began scolding him. Like the candelabra, it had a face and talked.  
"Now you've done it, Francis. You've scared him out wits. Splendid, just peachy-OI!" Alfred picked him up off of the floor, his curiosity overcoming his fear.

"What are you? You're not a ghost are you? Are you aliens?" he asked excitedly. The clock was to busy struggling to answer his questions.

"Put me down, put me down I say." Alfred ignored it and examined it, only stopping when the clock began loudly protesting as Alfred poked at the pendulum in the glass case.

"SIR. I beg you pardon," the clock huffed before Alfred finally put him down. The candelabra, Francis, was snickering at the clock's plight, using his two branches like arms to quiet his laughter.

"Sorry dude, but the look on you face was a-aah-ACHOO!" Alfred sneezed before he could finish his sentence.

"Oh, you are soaked to ze bone, Monsieur. Come and sit down by ze fire," invited Francis, leading the way to a cozy room with a large stuffed armchair and a fire blazing in the fireplace, while the clock named Arthur protested every step of the way. None of them noticed the figure that watched them from the top of the stairs.

"You know what the Master will do if he catches this boy here. I demand that you stop. Right. There." None of the Arthur's warnings had any effect on Alfred who would have done anything to get warm again quickly. It was also very hard to take a talking clock seriously. Arthur continued to wring his hands (or things that look kind of like hands) as Alfred sat down in the armchair and began to get comfortable.

A footstool came up to Alfred, barking like a dog and the tassels on one side were wagging like a dog's tail. It propped itself up under Alfred's feet.

Arthur was about to start another wave of protests when he was run over by a tray carrying a smiling coffeepot and a mug. Both were decorated with paintings of tomato plants

"Hola señor! Would you like some coffee? It's hot, and will warm you right up." As he spoke, the coffeepot poured some coffee into the mug

"Sure!" Picking up the mug, Alfred was about to take a sip when the mug began yelling at him in an Italian accent. "Hey watch where you put your mouth bastardo!"

Alfred stopped when he noticed the mug had what would have been an odd curl of hair if it was a person. "Sorry about that," he told it.

"Whatever." The mug grumbled. Alfred cautiously took a sip of the coffee and found it to be delicious.

"Lovino!" the coffeepot scolded gently, still smiling. "Treat our guest nicely."

"I don't have to listen to you tomato bastardo." The mug huffed.

Suddenly the doors flung open creating a gust that almost put out the fire, darkening the room. All of the talking furniture appeared to be very afraid. Lovino jumped behind the coffeepot with a high-pitched scream.

"Zhere's a stranger here," a rough voice growled, a heavy German accent saturating his voice. Francis tried to speak but was silenced by a roar.

Arthur spoke up "Master, I just want you to know that I had nothing to do with this and that I was against it from the start-" another roar scaring into hiding under the rug.

Alfred wasn't scared, at least, that's what he kept telling himself. He was the hero after all, and heroes don't get scared easily. He looked around and found himself face to face with a terrifying monster.

It was mostly human in shape and size but covered in white fur. A pair of horns grew on its head, above its ears. From the waist down, it had a wolf's tail and legs. Its hands had fingers like a human but were tipped with long claws instead of fingernails. Fierce crimson eyes glared at him and sharp fangs gleamed when it talked.

"Who are you? Vhy are you trespassing in my awesome castle?"

Summoning all of his courage, Alfred replied bravely, "I was lost in the woods and I had no place to stay." He couldn't keep his eyes off of the Beast. Never in a million years would he have imagined such a thing to be possible. The Beast noticed Alfred's staring.

"Vhat? Can't keep your eyes off of my awesomeness?

"No, I wasn't staring at you." lied Alfred.

"Liar, I can fix zhat." Alfred knew better than to talk back so he only kept quiet as the Beast dragged him away, watching the shocked looks of the servants as he was taken away and locked up in the dungeon.

"How am I supposed to be Mattie's hero now?" he wondered. "I hope I'll be able to see you again Matthew."


	4. Chapter 3

A few days later Matthias and Peter hid behind a bush near Matthew's house.

"Boy is Matthew gonna be surprised by what I have in store for him." said Matthias, grinning broadly.

"Who?" Peter asked, confused.

"Matthew Williams. You know, Alfred's twin brother?"

"Alfred has a twin brother?"

"Of course he does you idiot. And I am going to ask him to marry me. After all, he's the only person in this town close enough to looking as dashing handsome as I do. Plus, he has a great ass."

"Alfred or Matthew?"

"Matthew, duh! That Alfred guy is way too weird and he doesn't know when to shut up." God, that kid was dumb. The only reason Matthias allowed Peter to hang around him was so that he could be praised as often as possible. "Peter, is everyone ready?"

"Oh yes!" Peter replied enthusiastically. "We've got a clergy, and all of the townspeople are waiting over at your house. There's even a big cake too, and a band!"

"Good. Now all I have to do is propose!" Matthias chuckled. With his stunning good looks and a wedding already prepared, how could Matthew possibly turn him down?

The unsuspecting victim-er-I mean Matthew, had just finished making a stack of pancakes for breakfast. They had come out just right, an even golden brown color without being either undercooked or overcooked. Setting down a bottle of maple syrup, Matthew was just about to begin eating when he heard a knock at the door.

Annoyed at being taken away from his beloved pancakes, Matthew went to the door and peered through the peephole. What he saw made him groan. Matthias was dressed in a fancy black suit with red trimming and gold buttons. He was checking himself out in a hand mirror and flexing his muscles. Knowing that he wouldn't be left alone if he didn't let Matthias in, Matthew was about to open the door to tell Matthias to go away, only to have Matthias practically force his way in before he could.

"Matthias." Matthew said, pretending to be surprised. "How…unexpected."

"Yeah I know, that's one the best things about me. You never know what to expect. For example, no one could ever expect that I could look even cooler than I usually do. But let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns-oh sorry, wrong story). Matthew Williams, today is the day you have been waiting for all of your life."

"Oh really?" Matthew raised an eyebrow skeptically. "And what do you think I've been waiting for exactly?"

Matthias plopped down in Matthew's seat at the table and began helping himself to pancakes, pouring an excessive amount of syrup on it, much to the other's annoyance (maple syrup wasn't exactly cheap, plus NOTHING got in between Matthew and his maple syrup).

"Let me put it this way." Matthias said through a mouthful of pancake. "Picture a large house on the outskirts of town, roast pork on the table, and my cute husband massaging my feet."

Matthew really didn't want to think about Matthias' feet; the thought almost made him sick. "And do you know who would be doing the massaging?"

"Err, is it someone I know?" Matthew suspected he knew the answer, but he desperately wanted to be wrong.

"You, Matthew. I know you must be thinking that you're dreaming, I'm happy to tell you that you're not. I've picked you to the King's husband." Matthias puffed out his chest. "So is it 'yes,' or 'OH YES!' ?"

Matthew gulped. "Wow… I uh, Matthias, I really don't know what to say." Which was true. Matthew didn't know how to turn him down nicely, especially as Matthias was slowly backing him into the front door.

"Say you'll marry me."

"Thanks for the offer, but I just don't think I deserve you." Matthew said, squirming away from Matthias.

Matthias shrugged. "Who does?"

Matthew couldn't control his temper any longer. He opened the door and shoved Matthias outside, only yelling "Thanks for asking!" before closing the door in his face.

Matthias only stood there stunned for a moment before Peter rushed out from his hiding place.

"So how did it go?"

"Oh you know, Matthew, he's just playing hard to get." laughed Matthias forcefully, before his expression darkened. "Still… I've have Matthew as my husband, whether he likes it or not."

Matthias stormed away from Matthew's house with Peter following.

Matthew opened the door a crack and sighed with relief when he saw Matthias had left. "Thank goodness." He muttered. "I don't believe it. That jerk asked me to marry him. That rude, self-obsessed, syrup-stealing hoser!"

Matthew stormed out the house in the direction of a meadow he had visited often in the past when he was upset. When he reached the meadow he sat down in the midst of a group of dandelions waving in the wind. He remembered something Alfred had told him once when they were kids. "If you wish on a dandelion and blow away the seeds, the wind will carry them away and your wish will come true."

Plucking a single dandelion, Matthew marveled at the fine hairs on the seeds that grew on it before whispering his wish. "I wish… for someone to see and notice me for me, not because I look like Alfred, or because they like me for my looks. Just one person, that's all I ask." Blowing gently on the flower, Matthew watched as the seeds took off into the air, drifting upward in the wind.

A frenzied whinnying disrupted Matthew's thoughts. Looking across the meadow, he saw Kumajiro, galloping toward him.

"Whoa!" Matthew cried, trying to calm the horse, who did eventually calm down, only to give him and confused look. "Who are you?" Matthew imagined it saying.

"I'm Matthew." he reminded Kumajiro, stroking his mane consolingly. "The one who feeds you. Hang on, where's Alfred? He wasn't supposed to be back so soon. Where is he?" Matthew was beginning to get worried.

"Come on…Kuma. Take me to him." Matthew unhitched the wagon with the spaceship on it and got on Kumajiro's back.

***  
A few hours later, Matthew found himself in front of a castle. "How is there a castle here that no one knows about?" he wondered out loud.

"Is this where Alfred is?" he asked Kumajiro.  
He had given the horse one of Alfred dirty shirts to smell and the horse had led him here to the castle. He remembered reading somewhere that horses have an acute sense of smell so he trusted Kumajiro to track down Alfred. He also remembered that it had rained the day Alfred left home, and from what Matthew could tell, the castle was the only shelter within the forest.

"I'm coming for you, Alfred."

***  
Meanwhile inside the castle, Arthur was pacing back and for on a table, Francis watching him with arm-like branches folded like crossed arms.

"Just couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you? Invite him in, sit him down in front of the fire. Absolutely NOTHING could go wrong right?" Arthur kept on ranting as Francis mumbled. "I was just being 'ospitable, something which you seem to be incapable of."

"Why you-" Arthur was about to retort when they heard a voice outside. They hurried and peeked outside the door to see Matthew looking for Alfred.

"Alfred? Are you there? Hello? Where are you, Alfred?"

Both objects stood there shocked before Arthur finally spoke.

"How in the bloody hell did the prisoner escape?" he exclaimed.

***  
In another part of the castle, a mug could be seen hopping toward the kitchens where the coffeepot was overseeing the dishes washing themselves.

"Hey, tomato bastardo!" Lovino shouted. "Another idiot wandered into the castle."

"Now, now, Lovino. It's not nice to tell fibs. Come on, Get into the bath" the coffeepot told Lovino as he nudged him into a tub filled with soapy water.

"What the crapola?" Lovino yelled, spitting out water. "I was telling the truth, you fucking bastard!"

"Antonio!" A feather duster cried to the coffeepot as it swept into the room (no pun intended). "I saw a boy wandering in the hall!"

"Gracias, Michelle." Antonio told the feather duster before turning to Lovino.

"See, I told you but you wouldn't listen, idiota."

***  
"Zat's not ze same boy 'o is in ze dungeon." Francis told Arthur.

"What do you mean, of course it's the same one!" Arthur replied indignantly.

"Non, zis one has sexier 'air zat reminds me of my own back when I was 'uman. Surely zis boy is 'ere to break ze Master's curse."

"Were you trying to insult my hair?"

"I don't know what you mean." Francis sniffed.

"Frog!"

"Black Sheep!"

Matthew stopped walking when he heard what sounded like arguing from further in the hallways.

"Alfred? Is that you? I know you don't like places like this but stop trying to play jokes on me to make yourself feel better."

Francis quickly realized that Matthew was heading toward him and Arthur. Judging from the similarity of this stranger to the one locked in the dungeon, Francis figured that they must be related. Dragging Arthur with him, he began leading Matthew toward the dungeons. Matthew began following Francis' light, which eventually led up a flight of stairs to a room with several doors, all of which appeared to be cell doors.

"Is there anyone here?" Matthew called once more and heard a faint "Mattie?" from behind one of the doors.

"Alfred!" Matthew cried, grabbing a torch from the walls as he kneeled next to the door to see Alfred's pale face staring back at him through the bars.

"How did you find me? This sucks, the hero has to be saved now. Never mind, you have to get out of here before-" Alfred suddenly began coughing very hard. Clearly, the only reason he hadn't broken out of his cell before was due to being weak and sick.

"Stand back, Alfred. I'm going to ram the door down." Matthew took a few steps back, but before he could start running forward, a hand grabbed his shoulder and knocked the torch from his hand, putting it out. Now the only light in the room came from a window on the ceiling.

"Who are you? What gives you the right to lock up a person who is sick?" Matthew asked angrily (but still in his usual quiet voice), looking around so he would know where to address the person who could have done this to Alfred.

"I am ze awesome master of zis castle. Kneel down und cry, for you are not as awesome as me."

By now Matthew could make a dark figure across from him. "I don't care about that. I'm here for Alfred. I know he trespassed but please let him go. I really don't want to use force but I will if I have to. Please, I'll do anything."

The figure laughed, making some kind of hissing sound "Kesesesese. YOU? Fight me?" Then it stopped as if it heard the last part of Matthew's plea. "Anything?"

"Yes. There must something I can do." He leaned into the light coming from the window as he spoke and could also feel the figure's eyes observing him. Matthew paused as he thought of something and forced the words out his mouth. "Take me in his place and let Alfred go."

"You? You would…take your brother's place?" The figure asked, its rough voice suddenly becoming softer at the word "brother."

Matthew nodded but stopped. "Come into the light," he requested, wanting to see his jailer's face.

The figure hesitated for a moment before slowly edging into the light, revealing his white fur and red eyes. Matthew's eyes widened as he took in the Beast's appearance but he nodded and said. "I promise I'll stay here as long as you let Alfred go."

"No Matthew!" Alfred cried, using Matthew's full name to show he was serious.

"Done," the beast growled before opening the cell door and dragging Alfred out, who was able to hug Matthew and exchange brief goodbyes before the Beast took him away and sent him off in a carriage that moved without the aid of horses as Matthew watched from the tower above.

"Don't worry Mattie!" Alfred yelled from below. "I'll get some backup and save you!"

As the Beast walked back up the stairs, Francis tried to get his attention. "Master-"

"Vhat?"

"Uh, I just zought zat you might want to offer ze young man a room as he will be staying with us from now on…" Francis trailed off when he saw the Beast wasn't paying attenion. They soon reached the dungeon again.

"I'll take you to your room." he told Matthew who looked confused. He would actually be given a room instead of a cell?

"My room?"

"Vhat? Vould you rather stay in here?" the Beast gestured at the dungeon, his voice almost sarcastic.

"No."

"Zhen follow me."

The Beast led Matthew through the halls of the castle speaking little to him except to tell him to stay out of the West Wing ("Why-?" "It's my awesome personal space und you are not vorthy enough to enter!") before stopping in front of a large bedroom which might have once belonged to a prince, judging from the luxurious decorations.

"My servants will care for your every need (shut up, I know some of the readers are thinking perverted stuff here) .You vill join ze awesome me for dinner tonight. It vould very unawesome to refuse so it is not a request!" The Beast said almost hurriedly before slamming the door.

Matthew stood there for a few moments almost stunned before punching the door in anger and creating a sizable dent before sitting on the bed and watching as snow begin to fall outside wondering what his life would be like now, trapped in a castle with a beast.


	5. Chapter 4

Back in the village, Matthias was moping in the local tavern. He had already drunk several glasses of beer but he still couldn't forget the humiliation of being rejected by Matthew.

"I don't understand it, he was supposed to say yes. We would be the perfect couple. Heck, our names even sound similar. It was meant to be. How could he say no to me, the King? That boy has no idea what he's done." Matthias sulked into his glass. "No one ever says no to the King."

"That's absolutely right!" Peter piped up, in an attempt to cheer up Matthias. "Do you want me to refill your glass?"

"Might as well. Nothing like a beer to make you forget."

"Aw come on. He just doesn't realize how cool you are." Peter carefully avoided using any names due to not remembering who Matthew was. "Cheer up, Matthias, I don't like seeing you this way."

Peter then began praising everything about Matthias that there was to praise: his physique, his good looks, how he didn't take anybody's shit, and how he won all of his fights. Peter even tried to get the other people in the tavern to do the same although they were less enthusiastic (Matthew wasn't the only one to find Matthias annoying). In particular, a group of four blonds in the corner were only making half-hearted comments in the hopes of cheering up Matthias enough to pay for their drinks as he had in the past.

After some time, Matthias finally began to respond. "What you're saying is true, I suppose. Even as a boy, I was exceptional."

Matthias then went into a long-winded account of his childhood and how everyone had loved him as a kid and how he could eat enough meat for three men. "…And nowadays, I eat enough meat for five!" He would have gone on, but the door was suddenly flung open and nearly fell off its hinges as Alfred burst into the tavern.

"Dudes! Dudes, I need your help. They've got Matthew locked in the dungeon!" he cried frantically, moving from person to person trying to get their attention before kneeling over as he was taking over by a coughing fit.

"Hold up. Slow down, Alfred. Who has Matthew locked up in a dungeon?" Matthias chuckled, amused by Alfred's panic.

"A-yeti! A big white hairy beast and a castle full of possessed furniture!" there was a pause before the whole tavern burst into laughter.

"What and I suppose they are aliens that abducted Matthew and have him on their spaceship." Peter sniggered.

"What? That's stupid, yetis aren't aliens." Alfred glared at the boy before turning back to everyone in the tavern. "You have to go with me to the castle and be my backup while I save Matthew!"

"So you want us to help you out?" Matthias inquired slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"Yeah!"

"…Okay." Matthias made a gesture and two men picked Alfred up and threw him out of the tavern. Alfred let out a loud "Oomph!" as he landed head first in the snow.

"Poor choice of words, Alfred." Matthias grinned as he downed another beer. "That crazy kid should be locked up-"

Matthias stopped abruptly as he considered his own words, and he smiled darkly. "Peter, I've been thinking."

"I've heard that's not good for you in large quantities."

"Shut up. I have an idea." Matthias whispered his plan to Peter, who gasped and whispered, "Really? But he-Oh I see!"

Matthias stood up. "Gentlemen and Ladies." he announced, "Dust off your oldest wine bottles, because you'll soon be celebrating my marriage to Matthew Williams! Drinks are on me!"

The entire tavern cheered (and the four blondes in the corned merely smiled), as they toasted Matthias Kohler, wishing him a good marriage to-

Wait, who was Matthias supposed to be marrying again?

***  
Matthew didn't know how long he had been staring outside. He had been lost in thought, wondering whether Alfred had gotten home safely and trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Would he truly have to spend the rest of his days in this dark and cold castle?

He would have given anything to be back in his boring village, forgotten by all but his brother and Kiku and Matthias. Actually. now that Matthew thought about it, being away from Matthias WAS an improvement. At the least the Beast wasn't trying to force him into marriage.

A soft tap at the door made Matthew look up. "Who is it?"

"Antonio."

"Hey don't forget about me!"

"…y Lovino."

Oh yeah, the Beast said he had servants. Were they monsters too? Matthew opened the door cautiously but didn't see anyone.

"Down here." Matthew looked down to see a coffeepot and a coffee mug hop into his room and gasped.

"What the maple! You're alive! And talking!" Antonio didn't seem fazed by Matthew's surprise.

"Si! Would you like some hot coffee? It does wonders for a troubled soul, and makes the world seen brighter." Antonio poured some coffee into Lovino while Matthew tried to pick his jaw off the floor.

"But you-this isn't-you're-" Matthew backed up up into a large wardrobe who turned around and frowned at him.

"I beg your pardon," it huffed. "Please be more careful. I'm made of mahogany you know."

"Roderich, be kinder to our guest." Antonio admonished the wardrobe.

"Oh all right. Greetings, I am Roderich von Edelstein, the great opera composer." Roderich said with flair.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Matthew." Matthew stammered.

"And I am Antonio and this cute little cup is Lovino."

"You see? I told you there was someone here but you didn't believe me, you damn tomato eater." Lovino spat, before hopping up to Matthew.

"Are you alright with that?" Matthew asked Lovino as he picked him up. Lovino made a shrugging motion. Matthew sampled the coffee and thought it was good, but needed some sweetening.

"I don't suppose you have any maple syrup I can put in this?"

"I think there might be some in the kitchens but I would have to check." Antonio told him. "By the way, what you did earlier was really brave, everyone thinks so."

"Maybe." said Matthew, "But that doesn't change the fact that I think it was wrong of your master to do this."

"Perhaps, but don't worry. Everything will turn out all right in the end. Just you wait." Antonio's optimism was contagious and Matthew gave him a small smile.

"Oh listen to me talking like an old grandmother, when there's dinner to be prepared." Antonio hopped out the door with Lovino following and cussing him out for leaving him behind.

"Well then, I suppose we have to make you look presentable for dinner." Roderich said, glancing over Matthew's appearance. "Yes, I think some of Ludwig's old clothing should fit you."

Roderich began rummaging in his drawers (not those kinds you perverts!), before pulling out a fine red tailcoat fit for a nobleman. "This should do."

"Thanks, but I'm not about to attend dinner with my captor." Matthew informed Roderich who looked shocked.

"But you must! If anything, it's in good taste." A cough from behind made Matthew and Roderich turn around to see Arthur.

"Ahem, dinner is served." he announced pompously.

***  
"Vhat's taking zhat kid so long? He shouldn't be keeping ze awesome me vaiting!" The Beast, known once as Prince Gilbert of the royal Beilschmidt family line, paced back and forth in front of the fireplace impatiently, Francis and Antonio observing from the mantelpiece.

"You need to be more patient, Master." Antonio counseled. "After all, the boy is despondent over losing both his freedom and his brother all on the same day."

Francis finally tried to contribute to the conversation. "Master Gilbert, 'ave you considered zat ze boy might be ze one to break ze curse?"

"Of course I have! How unawesomely stupid vould you have to be to not zhink zhat?" Gilbert continued pacing as Francis and Antonio began talking among themselves.

"Zis will be a piece of cake. YOu falls in love with 'im, 'e falls in love with you, et POOF ze curse is broken!" Francis declared confidently.

"That's not how it works, mi amigo. It takes time."

"Well excusez-moi for wanting to break ze curse quickly. We don't 'ave much time left. Ze cornflower started losing petals around ze time ze Master turned 21. Besides, ze boy has already brought out ze Master's softer side. Did you see 'ow 'e reacted when ze boy was willing to give 'imself up for 'is brother? It was clear 'e reminded ze Master of Ludwig, 'is own brother! 'e even gave 'im Ludwig's old room!"

"That is true." Antonio mused. He looked up to find his master still pacing.

"It's no use." Gilbert groaned, "He's so…beautiful... and I'm… ZHIS!" he snarled. He felt uncomfortable thinking about the boy's soft blond hair like downy feathers and the sad violet eyes that reminded him of the cornflower he kept in the West Wing. Himself on the other hand…Gilbert stared at his clawed hand and clenched it. How would he ever get someone to love him when he was stuck in this unawesome form?

But on the other hand, the kid had given up his own freedom for his brother. Maybe someone with such a capacity to care for another could one day-no Gilbert couldn't afford to let himself think such hopeful thoughts.

"Then you have to help him see the real you inside." Antonio told him.

"How?"

At this Francis and Antonio began talking at the same time, giving him tips as to how to act gentlemanly.

"Sit up straight."

"Smile at him when he comes through that door."

"Be honest and above all-" Gilbert was covering his ears from the overload of information.

"STOP BEING SO NARCISSISTIC!" Francis and Antonio yelled at the same time.

The door to the room creaked open and Gilbert looked at it nervously, but instead of Matthew, Arthur slipped through the door.

"He-Hello." he stammered.

"Vhere is he?"

"The boy? Oh yes, him, well I, uh, he..." Arthur began quaking under Gilbert's fierce stare. "He's not coming."

"VHAT?"

Gilbert ran down the halls, leaping off of a flight of stairs until he arrived at Matthew's. He pounded on the door.

"I TOLD YOU TO JOIN ME FOR DINNER" he roared.

"I'm not hungry." Matthew replied shortly.

Gilbert was furious. As a prince, no one had ever defied him and now this mere boy was refusing him. Nevertheless, he tried to calm down and he spoke through gritted teeth. "Zhe awesome me vould be pleased if you vould come out und join me tonight for dinner...please."

A pause. Then. "No thank you."

"Fine zhen. Go ahead and starve vithout my awesome presence!" Gilbert roared before storming away to the West Wing.

The West Wing had been Gilbert's room back when he was human, but now it was a mess, with all the furniture (the original furniture, not the servants transformed into furniture) overturned and anything broken that he could break. A former portrait of himself had been torn to shreds. The only thing left along was a small stand that held the magical cornflower under a bell jar and the magic mirror.

Picking up the mirror, Gilbert commanded, "Show me ze boy." The mirror glowed an eerie green before showing Matthew talking to Roderich.

"The master might be a bit full of himself, but he's not that bad." Roderich was saying to Matthew. Gilbert snorted. He knew Roderich was lying through his teeth. The two of them had never gotten along even before the curse.

"I don't care. I don't want anything to do with him." Matthew turned away from Roderich. Gilbert put down the mirror as the image faded, his heart sinking.

"I vas just lying to myself zhe entire time. He'll never see me as anything…but a monster." Gilbert put his head in his hands, trying not to cry.

A petal detached itself from the cornflower and fluttered down, joining a small pile of other fallen petals.


	6. Chapter 5

Not long after the argument with the Beast, Matthew began to get hungry. He hadn't eaten anything at all since breakfast, and the coffee had only pacified him for a little while. Remembering what Antonio said about maybe having maple syrup in the kitchens, Matthew decide to look around the castle to see if he could find the kitchens and maybe make himself something to eat.

Opening the door and peeking out, Matthew saw that the coast was clear and ventured out into the long hallway. On his way, he passed by a red curtain that hid Francis and Michelle the feather duster, who were both supposed to be guarding Matthew's room, but had ended up…distracted. At least, Francis had.

"Francis! Stop groping me! You singed my feathers last time."

"Non, mon cherie, you are enjoying it, I know."

"You're an old pervert!"

"I'm not old! I am merely well-aged, like good wine."

"Get away from me!"

"Ohonhonhonhonhon." There was a loud smacking sound and Michelle flounced away from the curtain. Francis was about to pursue her, but stopped when he caught sight of Matthew just as he turned the corner.

"Mon dieu! 'e has left ze room!" Francis began following Matthew to the kitchens where Antonio was trying to convince a resistant Lovino to go to bed in the cupboard with the other mugs.

"For the last time, I'm not tired!"

"Lovino, it's your bedtime. If you keep this up, I won't share my tomatoes with you when we become human again."

Lovino finally leapt into the cupboard where he fell asleep almost instantly, muttering "Good night, jerk."

Antonio smiled at the mug before turning his attention to Arthur who was still upset about the fight between Matthew and the Master.

"-and if you want my opinion, he was just being stubborn, after all the Master used the word 'please' for the first time since anyone can remember."

Matthew opened the door just as Antonio was saying, "But if the Master can't be more humble, then he'll never break the cur-"

"Spleeeendid to see you out of your room!" Arthur cried, seeing Matthew and trying to talk over Antonio. "My name is Arthur Kirkland, head of the household-"

He bowed only to be knocked down by Francis who took Matthew's hand (being careful not to burn it) and kissed it.

"-and this is Francis Bonnefoy, the maître 'd, and this biggest pervert you will ever meet." Arthur said shortly.

"Mon ami, clearly you do not remember your drunk exploits."

"Why I ought to-!" Arthur suddenly remembered Matthew's presence and turned back to him. "Anyway, is there anything we can do for you?

"I'm Matthew, and actually, I'm kinda hungry." Matthew stomach rumbled loudly, legitimizing his dilemma.

Antonio was ecstatic. "You heard what he said! He's hungry! Tell the stove to stoke up the fire and wake up the dishes and cutlery!"

"But what about the Master?" Arthur was worried.

"What 'e doesn't know won't 'urt 'him."

"Oh all right, but if we are going to feed him, we might as well feed him the finest cuisine we have. I shall go make some tea and scones.

"NON! Arthur, 'e is a guest! Your food would poison 'im. It's even worse zan prison food!" Francis motioned to Matthew, leading him to a large, empty dinning hall.

"Keep it down. If the Master finds out, it will be our heads." Arthur hissed.

"Oui, of course, but what is dinner without a little…music."

"MUSIC?" Arthur sputtered. He was about to run into the dining room and tell Francis off, but the door hit him as it swung close, momentarily dazing him.

Matthew took a seat at the table as Francis got up on it. "Monsieur, it is our pleasure to let the dining room present to you, your dinner."

In the years to come, Matthew would find it hard to explain what happened next. To put it simply, he was treated to a spectacular cabaret show, as he was served the most delicious meal he had ever had in his life.

**(you know what? Take a break from reading and watch the original song here watch?v=ov4tE7XRTUA and replace Belle with Matthew, Lumiere with Francis, Cogsworth with Arthur, and Mrs. Potts with Antonio and you have this part of my story)**

When Matthew finished eating, and the song had finished, he found himself applauding. "That was great!"

"Merci." Francis thanked him. Behind him, Arthur was shooing away the dishes and cutlery.

"Yes, yes good show everyone but look at the time, we should all be going off to bed." Arthur pointed at his face, which showed it was nearly half past nine.

Matthew was not in the least bit tired, and he wanted to explore his new home. He also secretly wanted to learn more about the magic he had encountered. By now, he had accepted that magic existed outside of books and judging from what he had seen, the castle, or at least it's inhabitants were under some kind of spell. Maybe if he got a look at that West Wing that the Beast had mentioned, he could find something there.

"Actually, Arthur, I was hoping you could give me a tour of the castle." Matthew figured it wouldn't hurt to flatter him a little. He decided not to reveal his intentions yet. In most of the books he read, victims of spells were not allowed to explain how to break them to those who could break them. "I'm sure you can tell me everything there is to know about the castle."

It worked. Arthur blushed (however it is possible for clocks to blush) and said, "Well, I am in expert in everything related to the castle so yes, I do."

***  
Francis yawned as he trailed behind Arthur and Matthew. Once you got Arthur onto a topic that he knew about, he would never shut up. The Frenchman was nearly bored to tears.

Matthew was also bored by Arthur's long-winded lectures about the flying buttresses. So far, he hadn't seen anything that he thought could give him clues as to how to the break the spell upon the castle, or even what exactly the spell was. Matthew noticed that Arthur hurried over an explanation of a flight of stairs leading upward.

"…and the stairs on the right lead to the West Wing. Now if you will follow me…"

For once, Matthew counted on his invisibility to allow him to slip away from Arthur and Francis. He hoped that the Beast wasn't in there but he would have to take that chance. Even though the Beast had said it was his room, Matthew suspected that he was hiding something up there.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Arthur and Francis continue on without him, unaware of his absence. Matthew began climbing the stairs, observing the large amount of dust and lack of care that the rest of the castle showed.

When he finally reached the top, he found himself in a dark hallway decorated with gargoyles instead of normal statues. Every single mirror had been broken, and bits of glass littered the floor. At the end of the hallway was a door with handles shaped like a monster's head. It almost seemed to glare at Matthew as if daring him to go inside. Matthew paused but still opened the door.

The room was or had been a bedroom belonging to someone of very high rank, judging by the gold trimmed hangings, which were torn and drooped sadly. Tables were overturned and more mirrors were broken. The portraits on the wall had long slashes running down then, making the figures' faces hard to make out. One in particular caught Matthew's eye. From what little he could make out, it showed two men sitting next to each other. One of the men had been left alone by whoever had damaged the painting, presumably the Beast. He had slicked back blonde hair and blue eyes and appeared to be annoyed by the other man who Matthew couldn't make out, as the bit of canvas showing his face had been torn off. All Matthew could tell was that the second man had very pale skin.

Matthew looked down, in a half-hearted attempt to search for the bit of canvas that had been torn out when he saw a bright light out of the corner of his eyes, Turning around, Matthew saw that the light was coming from a glowing cornflower levitating in the air under a bell jar. It was a beautiful color, a clear, bright violet instead of the usual blue shade that he had seen on cornflowers. As he moved closer, Matthew noticed that the cornflower was slightly wilted, with a little pile of fallen petals underneath it. As he watch, another petal fell. Next to the bell jar lay a small mirror, the only one he had seen so far that had not been destroyed.

Ignoring the mirror, Matthew stared at the flower. In most of the books he read, there was usually a special item that was tied to the spell. Could this be it? Did he need to destroy it or was it supposed to die on it's own? Maybe the petals were special somehow. Matthew reached out and lifted the bell jar off of the cornflower and began to reach for it.

"Vhat are you doing?" said a voice behind him in a low unsteady growl. Matthew jumped and turned around to face the Beast. The Beast placed the bell jar back over the cornflower and glared at Matthew.

Seeing Matthew in his room staring at the cornflower made Gilbert feel like all of his soul had been bared to the younger man. All of the years of loneliness and pain were left out for him to see in the form of his destroyed room.

"Vhy are you invading my room? I told you specifically to stay avay from here. You could have ruined everyzhing!" he snarled.

"I didn't mean to do anything, I'm sorry!" Matthew apologized.

Gilbert automatically reverted back to his defensive ego-boosting strategy. "Vhatever. Just get out of my awesome presence."

To put it mildly, Matthew was pissed. Even though he normally was not violent, this Beast was so rude and so full of himself that Matthew wanted to punch him in the face.

"Fine then." He snapped, his voice raised for the first time above his usually whisper. "I don't care about my stupid promise. I'm leaving."

The Beast tried to grab Matthew's arm but tore his sleeve instead and scratched his arm. Matthew pulled his arm away. Gilbert saw what he had done and looked at him in horror.

"No…I'm-I'm sorry-" Gilbert tried to reach for Matthew but the latter swatted away his hand.

"Don't touch me." Matthew spat, as years of being ignored and mistreated spilled out of him in the anger that he directed at Gilbert. "Don't worry, you'll forget me soon anyway, just like everybody else."

Matthew ran out of the West Wing to collect his things and almost ran down the front doors as he left to saddle Kumajiro.

Gilbert was stunned by Matthew's behavior. He stood there for a few moments as he replayed what had just happened over and over in his mind.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you," he whispered into the empty space around him. "It's just that there's so little humanity left in me…So little of me left."

Over the years, his curse had driven him almost to insanity, knowing that if he looked in the mirror he would not see his own face, but one that no one would ever imagine could ever experience human feelings. He couldn't hide from himself and his fear of becoming the inhuman beast on the inside that he was on the outside. All of his hopes of ever becoming human again had fled with Matthew and he had no one to blame this time but himself.

How was he supposed to break the curse when he didn't know how to love in the first place? It had been a long time since Gilbert had felt anything close to love. Before the curse, his brother, Ludwig was the only person he had deeply cared for, even if he told Ludwig he thought he was too stiff. From observing the mirror, Gilbert had learned that Ludwig had married an Italian man and was ruling his kingdom with him. The same kingdom that Gilbert was once meant to rule. Had anyone even missed him when he disappeared?

Oh if only he hadn't been so stupid that night! If he had only let that beggar woman in, he could have been living in the castle with Ludwig, teasing him and playing pranks like he had before.

If only he hadn't ruined his chances with the boy. Maybe he could have learned to love him and even be loved in return and set free. But it wasn't to be if Gilbert still lacked the ability to love. For if he couldn't love Matthew, then who?

Now he was gone, riding off into the woods…THE WOODS! The wolves were out and due to overhunting they would be desperate enough to attack a traveler.

Gilbert grabbed the mirror and ran downstairs and out of the castle. It would be his fault if Matthew fell victim to hungry wolves. At this point, he didn't care if Matthew hated his guts, he still had to save him.

"I'm so sorry." Gilbert whispered one last time as he raced into the woods.


	7. Chapter 6

By the time, Matthew and Kumajiro rode past the castle gates a blizzard was beginning to form. Matthew's eyes and lips stung from the icy wind and snow blowing toward them. He urged Kumajiro on, hoping that they could at least get out of the forest before finding shelter.

Even if the servants had been nice, there was nothing that would make Matthew go back. It didn't matter, Matthew told himself. No one had bothered to try and remember his existence before, why should the people he left behind be any different? The Beast had probably already forgotten they had ever met.

Kumajiro's frantic pulling on the reigns tore Matthew out his thoughts. The two of them were surrounded by a pack of wolves that were slowly closing in on them.

Matthew leapt off of Kumajiro's back and spotted a dead tree nearby. He wrapped his arms around it and pulled it out the ground, hoping to threaten the wolves enough to make them go away. He hated to have to kill any of them, especially since he knew that wolves rarely attacked humans unless they were desperate for food.

The wolves backed away, but started to move toward Kumajiro. Matthew ran in front of him and swung the tree toward the wolves, hitting some of them. But instead of going away, the wolves kept coming. Matthew was forced to keep fending them off.

One of the wolves sprang toward Matthew and his quick move to defend himself made his glasses fly off. Matthew was nearly blind without his glasses, which left him vulnerable to attack. He could only make out grayish blobs advancing from a background of white.

Matthew began feeling around desperately for his glasses, and his fingers finally grasped them just as a loud roar pierced the air. He hurriedly put his glasses on and a fuzzy white figure detached itself from its surrounds and was revealed to be the Beast.

Gilbert had been relieved to find Matthew but was surprised to see that he had been holding up well on his own before he lost his glasses. Damn, that kid was strong!

Seeing a wolf sneaking up on Matthew from behind, Gilbert roared again before charging at the wolves, pushing his way through them and throwing the wolf away form Matthew. He then crouched next to Matthew, who was stunned but both turned their attention back to the problem at hand.

This was no time for talking. They exchanged a brief look before Matthew grabbed the tree and swung it toward the wolves again as the Beast began fighting the wolves head on, dealing them harsh blows and deep scratches. At this, the wolves focused their attention on Gilbert and began ganging up on him. One wolf scratched his arm deeply, staining the white fur red with blood, before Gilbert threw the wolf into a tree, finally scaring the wolves away as they realized this was not easy prey.

Gilbert was exhausted and light headed from blood loss. He swayed at little as he looked at Matthew and tried to speak, to say anything to earn forgiveness.

"Matthew..." was all he could say before he collapsed and white faded to black.

Matthew had been taken aback by the regret in the Beast's eyes and when he collapsed, Matthew immediately ran over to him, all his anger at him a thing of the past.

He picked up the Beast and placed him on Kumajiro's back, making sure the horse could handle it before they began walking back to the castle.

***  
When Gilbert woke up, he found himself in his favorite armchair next to the fireplace. Next to him, Matthew was soaking a rag in hot water and wringing it out. Looking at his arm, Gilbert remembered the fight with the wolves and being scratched.

"I see you're awake," was all Matthew said, not meeting Gilbert's eyes. He moved the rag and pressed it gently again the wound.

"ARGHHH! Zhat vas unawesome!" Gilbert yelled. His wound stung. The servants, who had been watching from nearby, cowered a little.

"I would have thought that someone so 'awesome' would be able to handle a little pain." Matthew said coolly. Gilbert was about to respond, but realized that he couldn't put all of the blame on Matthew for what had happened and anything he said would come out sounding childish.

He sullenly let Matthew continued to clean and dress his wound in silence, gritting his teeth so he wouldn't make a single sound. When Matthew finished, he broke the silence.

"By the way, thank you for coming to help me out. You probably saved my life."

Gilbert glanced at Matthew, and was caught in his intense violet gaze as he registered the fact that he had been thanked for something for the first time since he could remember.

"You're velcome." He muttered in return, but something was still bugging him. "Vhy did you take me back? You could have run avay but you didn't. I didn't go to take you back, I vas going to defend you from zhe volves und let you go. You vere free to leave me to die."

Matthew blinked. "I couldn't leave you to die. I would never do that to anyone. No one deserves to die because someone else lacked compassion. Also, I was amazed that you had come at all. No one except for maybe a handful I people I know remember I even exist.

"Vell, I remember you. I came to help you didn't I?"

"And you remembered my name after only hearing it once." Matthew smiled uncertainly at Gilbert. "Look, we kind of got off to a bad start. Why don't we start over? Hello. My name is Matthew Williams." He held out his hand.

Gilbert took it, being careful not to touch Matthew with his claws. He tried to lighten the mood. "Hallo Matthew. My name is Gilbert und I am awesome! Can I ask you somezhing?"

"Yes?"

"Can I call you Birdie?"

"Why?" Matthew looked confused.

"It's an awesome nickname und you just kind of make me zhink of a bird." It was true. Matthew's downy blond hair, the way he leaned on the edge on his seat like a perch, and his overall cuteness made him think of a little bird.

"O-okay. You know, I been thinking... I think I can afford to stay here a little longer, just until you're fully healed of course." As long as Gilbert remembered him, Matthew didn't care what Gilbert called him.

***  
Meanwhile, in the village, Matthias and Peter were meeting with someone essential to Matthias' plan to marry Matthew.

"Ivan Braginski, thank you for the taking the time to stop and chat with us."

The tall man with light hair and pale purple eyes and a scarf wrapped around his neck smiled. Although it was meant to be friendly, it still sent chills down Matthias and Peter's spines.

"It is nice to see you too. It can get rather lonely over at the asylum. You understand of course, da?"

"Er, da. Anyway, I have a proposition for you. You know Matthew Williams?" Matthias missed Ivan's blank look. "Well I want to marry him, but he has been, shall we say…uncooperative."

"Practically slammed the door in his face." Peter laughed before Matthias pushed him off of his chair.

"That is nice, but I do not see what this has to do with me."

"Just keep listening. Everyone knows that Alfred Jones, Matthew's brother is crazy. He believes in aliens for crying out loud. And just last night, he barged in the tavern babbling about Matthew being captured by a yeti and furniture possessed by ghosts."

Ivan shrugged. "Jones poses no danger to anyone."

"Whatever. Here's the plan. You will lock up Alfred in your insane asylum unless Matthew agrees to marry me. He would do anything to keep his brother from being put in there."

"And I assume I get something in exchange, da?"

Matthias took out a bag of gold and placed it on the table. "Enough money to buy a home in a warmer place, maybe near a sunflower garden." Anyone who knew Ivan, knew that he would do anything to leave the cold climate to go somewhere warmer.

"Deal. Let's go to see Alfred, da-"

"Wait!" Peter cried. "Matthew really isn't home like Alfred said. I checked out the house and Alfred is sick without anyone taking care of him. If we're going to do this, we'll have to wait until Matthew gets back."

Ivan seemed disappointed, but he brightened up. "Well then, we can wait."

"Yes" Matthias agreed. "And when Matthew comes back, we'll ready for him."

***  
From a balcony, Gilbert watched with Arthur, Francis, and Antonio as Matthew played with the dog-like footstool who ran around him and Kumajiro, barking and rolling in the snow. Matthew cracked up as the footstool bounded toward him, its tassels wagging.

Gilbert glanced down at the bandage on his arm and touched it gently as he looked back at Matthew. He felt a pleasant warmth in his chest when he saw Matthew smile and wave to him from below.

"Vhat is he doing to me? I've never felt like zhis before about anyone. It's not zhat I don't feel awesome, I always feel awesome, but vhen I'm around him, I…feel different…I feel…happy." Gilbert was thankful that no one could see his blush under his fur. "I vant to do somezhing for him. But vhat?"

Arthur had been listening patiently and gave his own opinion. "Well there's the usual things: flowers, chocolates…promises you don't intend to keep…"

Francis shook his head at Arthur. "You don't know very much about amore do you? Non, it 'as to be somezing special, somezing zat both of you can enjoy."

"He likes maple syrup. Maybe you can take him to the kitchens and make something together." Antonio suggested.

Gilbert thought about it and nodded. "Ja. I like zhat."

***  
"Gilbert, why did you take me here to the kitchen?"

"Be patient, Birdie. I have an awesome surprise for you. Close your eyes." Matthew apprehensively closed his eyes, wondering what Gilbert was so excited about. He heard Gilbert leave and a cabinet open and close before he heard Gilbert come back and place something smooth in his hands.

"You can open your eyes now." Matthew could hear the smile in Gilbert's voice. He opened his eyes and saw that Gilbert had given a bottle of maple syrup. A broad grin spread across his face as he threw his arms around Gilbert in a bear hug.

"Wow! Real maple syrup! Thank you so much!" Gilbert grinned and hugged Matthew back, observing that Matthew was slightly taller than him. Matthew broke away and began bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Now we can make pancakes with maple syrup! You'll love them, they taste like happiness!"

Although he had never had pancakes or maple syrup, Gilbert had no idea how Matthew could possibly be so obsessed with it until Matthew made a batch and Gilbert tried some (albeit sloppily). When Matthew started snickering at the sticky maple syrup dripping from his mouth, Gilbert glared playfully at Matthew

"I'm not sloppy, I'm just too awesome to eat normally. Anyvay, zhis stuff is awesome! No vonder you like it so much! Can you teach me how to make zhese?" Matthew's smile grew even bigger.

"Sure." He replied.

The servants watch from a distance as Matthew began telling him what to put in the mixing bowl. Gilbert spilled flour over himself and shook off the flour onto Matthew, who was laughing at him. When he finally got all the ingredients into the bowl. Matthew placed his hands over Gilberts as he guided them in the stirring motion.

"Are you watching zis?" Francis whispered to Arthur, Antonio and Lovino. "zey are growing closer togezer. It's working!"

"What do you mean?" Lovino asked from behind Antonio (he was hiding behind the coffeepot because he was afraid of the French candelabra).

"Things are certainly looking up." Arthur beamed as he left to attend to his duties.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Michelle giggled as she left with Francis to do God knows what.

"WHY THE CRAPOLA DOES NOBODY EVER TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON?" Lovino hollered as Antonio escorted him away.

***  
Over the next few weeks, much to the delight of the castle's inhabitants, Gilbert and Matthew grew closer together. Even after Gilbert's wound healed, Matthew kept making excuses to stay longer. Although Matthew was still secretly trying to figure out how to break the spell on the castle, he couldn't help but enjoy Gilbert's company. As different as they initially seemed to be, both understood how it felt to be different and alone.

One day, Matthew took Gilbert outside to teach him how to feed birds. He gave Gilbert some seeds and slowly knelt down near a group of birds who hopped into his hands and began eating the seeds.

Impressed by Matthew's success, Gilbert tried to copy Matthew but moved too quickly and scared the birds away.

Matthew shook his head in amusement at the sight of Gilbert unsuccessful efforts at trying to make friends with the birds. It was funny and kind of sweet at the same time, considering how annoying he had found Gilbert to be when they first met. The thing was, Matthew was uncertain about his new found feelings for Gilbert or even what they were exactly.

He crouched down next to Gilbert, took some of the seed out of his cupped hands and spread it onto the snow in front of him. Most of the birds flew away, but one bird remained, a small yellow chick, which flew into Gilbert's hands and ate some seeds before flying onto Gilbert's head and staying there.

Gilbert was pleased with his success and he turned to look at Matthew to show him, only to see him slipping behind a tree after giving him a look. Not a bad look, but more contemplative with a hint of something else. Could it be…?

No it couldn't, he decided just before he was hit in the face with a snowball. The bird on his head fluttered its wings in surprise but didn't budge.

"Oh you're gonna get it, Birdie." Gilbert smirked as he began building the mother of all snowballs. He picked it up, only to be hit with another snowball and have it drop on his head.

"Hey, you destroyed an awesome snowball just now!" Matthew just laughed and climbed the tree as Gilbert ran toward him, arms raising as if to attack him, only to be hit by another snowball.

When the two finally came inside, they were soaked from the snowball fight and smiling widely. The bird that Gilbert had fed stayed on his head even when they went inside.

"We should name the little guy." Matthew told Gilbert.

"Alright zhen." Gilbert held his hand out and the bird perched on it. "I dub you, Gilbird!"

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Gilbird?"

"Vhat? It's an awesome name for an awesome bird!" Gilbert responded indignantly.

Gilbird chirped as if in agreement. Gilbert and Matthew looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

Neither of them could clearly define their feelings for the other but one thing was certain. There was something there between them that wasn't there before.


	8. Chapter 7

"Gilbert?" Matthew asked one day. The two of them had just finished reading The Sword in the Stone together (Rather, Matthew had been reading it out loud to Gilbert, who listened. Gilbird still liked to hang out on his head). Although Gilbert could read, he had a short attention span, and so he didn't do it often. Besides, he preferred to listen to Matthew's voice make the book come to life for him.

"Hmm? Vhat is it, Birdie?"

"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to have dinner with me tonight." Matthew said quickly, sounding a little nervous.

Gilbert decided to tease Matthew a little. "Ve have dinner together every night, silly."

Matthew blushed, which Gilbert found extremely cute. "Right. I meant like maybe a special kind of dinner, to make up for the one I missed the night we fought the wolves."

"Zhat vas veeks ago. You shouldn't feel guilty about zhat." Gilbert tried to remain calm, even though his heart was pounding in excitement. Maybe this would be his chance to confess his feelings to Matthew!

"I know, but still…" Matthew stammered something about Gilbert not having to go if he didn't want to and apologizing, for what Gilbert didn't know.

"It's fine. I'd love to join you." Gilbert could have sworn he heard cheering in the distance, most likely from the servants who had been eavesdropping on him and Matthew like they had for the past few weeks.

"Let's meet in the dining hall at 6:00." Matthew suggested.

Gilbert agreed and left to tell the servants to prepare for a special evening (even though he suspected they probably already knew).

***  
"Look, I know how to bathe on my own. I don't need all of you here to vatch." Gilbert said, lowering his head into the suds from his bath (yes he took bubble bathes, you got a problem with that?). Gilbird was perched on the edge of the tub, preening his feathers.

"Listen, mon ami, zis is ze night that you tell Matthew you 'ave feeling for 'im. You are going to need all ze advice you can get. You can't screw zis up, ze cornflower is dying." Francis pointed at the cornflower, which only had a handful of petals left. From the looks of things, it appeared that only magic had stopped it from wilting more quickly. There were probably only a few days left until the curse became permanent.

"Francis is right. You can't wimp out on us, not when we're so close to breaking the curse!" Antonio said.

"Ja, ja, I know." Gilbert got out of the tub and shook himself dry, which made his fur poof out. He rubbed himself dry with a towel and tried to comb out his mane, which had a lot of knots in it.

"As I am ze one 'o specializes in matters relating to amore, I have overseen all of ze preparations for tonight. We 'ave a delicious dinner being prepared, music written by Roderich especially for tonight, and romantic candlelight which will be provided by moi." Francis went on, describing everything he had done to prepare for tonight as Gilbert stared at himself in a mirror that had somehow managed to escape destruction.

In order to embolden himself, Gilbert began talking to his reflection. "You. Are. Awesome. You are awesome. You Are Awesome. You Are Awesome! YOU ARE AWESOME!" Now Gilbert felt ready to face Matthew.

"I CAN DO ZHIS!" Gilbert looked back at his reflection and his confidence deflated again. "No, I can't."

Francis hopped up next to Gilbert. "You care for Matthew don't you?"

"More zhan anything." Gilbert admitted.

"Zhen you have to tell 'im, ozerwise it's not fair to 'im if 'e likes you back." Francis advised.

A few minutes later Gilbert had dressed in the outfit left out for him by the castle's tailor, Felix (who was now a hot pink coat rack). When he finished getting dressed, he looked at himself in the mirror again and frowned.

"Oh you look so…so…" Francis trailed off as he took in Gilbert's outfit. His tailcoat was a girly shade of lavender, while the sleeves and cravat were trimmed with lace.

"Prissy." Gilbert finished.

" 'Tacky' was actually the word I was zinking but eizer way, I think you need somezing different."

Gilbert had just finished changing into a dark blue suit, when Arthur came in to announce that Matthew was waiting for him, and that it was nearly 6.

***  
As Gilbert waited for Matthew, he began fidgeting with his cravat nervously. When he finally heard Matthew's footsteps he looked up and heard himself gasp softly.

Matthew looked…amazing. He wore a magnificent gold tailcoat, which matched his blond hair and brought out his purple eyes. Even though his hair had been washed and combed, his one stubborn curl still stuck out. His sincere and slightly nervous smile completed the image.

"You look awesome, Birdie." Gilbert told him, feeling like his chest had tightened around his lungs.

Matthew blushed. "Thanks. You look awesome too."

Gilbert gestured toward the Dining hall. "Shall we?" Matthew nodded and they went inside where they enjoyed a delectable feast.

As the two ate, they talked and laughed about anything that came to mind. When they finished dessert, Matthew finally plucked up the courage to convince Gilbert to go to the ballroom with him.

The ballroom, like many other chambers in the castle, was large and clearly meant to hold hundreds of people. Tall marble columns encircled the room and from behind tall glass windows that reached the ceiling, stars glittered in the night sky. Strategically placed candles (under orders from Francis of course) cast a warm golden glow over everything. In the corner, servants who had been transformed into musical instruments were finishing tuning themselves.

It was only once Matthew and Gilbert had reached the middle of the room that Matthew realized there was a problem.

"Uh Gilbert, I don't know how to dance."

"Zhat's okay, I can teach you how. It's been a long time, but I zhink I still remember. Here, I'll lead." Gilbert took Matthew's hand in his own and placed Matthew's other hand on Gilbert's right arm. He then placed his hand on Matthew's waist. "Just follow my lead, Birdie."

Matthew heard a slow waltz start up and Gilbert began slowly moving in a circle, making sure that Matthew could keep up. Matthew stared down at his and Gilbert's feet, trying to pick up the pattern of the movements. Slowly but surely, Matthew fell in time with the music and looked back up at Gilbert, delighted.

The waltz soon ended and a song began playing, but instead off a full orchestra, it was only played on the piano with a few violins and a flute accompanying it. Matthew caught sight of Francis, Arthur, Antonio, and Lovino (scowling less than usual) watching them from on top of the piano in the orchestra. Gilbird sat next to them.

Antonio was singing with the music, but Matthew wasn't paying attention to the words, so enraptured was he by Gilbert's ruby eyes. The two were lost in a world of their own, as they danced for what seemed like an eternity.

Once they had gotten tired of dancing, Gilbert led Matthew through a pair of tall glass doors out onto a balcony where they sat down on a bench next to each other.

It was now or never. The time was right; Gilbert could feel it in his heart. He slowly edged closer to Matthew and placed his hand on Matthew's. The other didn't pull away, but instead held his hand.

"Birdie…" Gilbert didn't know how to word his feelings. He decided to lead into it carefully. "Have you been happy here vith me?"

"Yes, of course. You've been-everybody's been so nice to me." Matthew's smile faded as he gazed up at the sky. "Still…I kinda miss Alfred, and I'm worried about him. I'm not sure he can take care of himself without getting into trouble."

Gilbert frowned, but perked up. "I have a vay for you to check on Alfred."

***  
Matthew noticed that the West Wing had changed since the last time he had been there. It had been cleaned up and now looked more like the royal bedroom it had likely once been. Matthew looked around for the portrait he had seen before, but it was gone.

Gilbert took him to the small stand that held the cornflower and the mirror. Picking up the mirror, Gilbert handed it to Matthew, saying "Zhis mirror is magical. It vill show you vhatever you ask to see."

Taking the mirror, Matthew held it in front on him and said uncertainly, "Show me my brother, Alfred."

The mirror glowed brightly and as Matthew watched, it revealed an image of Alfred in bed, with a hamburger on his forehead? Sure, Alfred loved hamburgers more than life itself, but the scene still didn't make any sense., "Why isn't it working? Hamburgers are supposed to cure colds! Wait, what's a cold, anyway?" Alfred coughed.

"Crap." Matthew groaned, lowering the mirror. "Alfred's sick and has no idea how to treat himself and he's probably to stubborn to call a doctor."

Matthew looked up at Gilbert only to see him staring at the cornflower, which had very few petals left. Gilbert ran his claws lightly over the glass of the bell jar before speaking. "Zhen you should go und help him."

"What?"

"I've told you before, zhere are no obligations keeping you here." Gilbert's voice cracked, as if the words pained him. "You have been free to go for some time. Your brother is sick and you have to help him. I'll have zhe servants pack some medicine for him."

"Really?" Much to Gilbert's surprise, Matthew threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much."

Matthew started to leave but remembered he was still holding the mirror. He held it out to Gilbert, who shook his head. "Keep it, I don't use it anymore. I have no need to. It will be a vay for you to look back und remember me-us. Remember all of us."

Gilbert closed his eyes when he finished speaking. He felt Matthew embrace him again and whisper "Good bye."

No sooner had Matthew left, than Arthur entered in high spirits. Gilbird came with him and settled on Gilbert's head again. "Well, it looks like tonight has worked out beautifully. We'll be human again in no time. What happened?"

Gilbert felt a twinge of guilt in his chest. By not confessing to Matthew, he had lost his last chance to break the spell, thus dooming his servants as well as himself. For the first time, Gilbert regretted fully that his servants now had to share in his misery due to his own mistake.

"Arthur, Matthew is leaving." Arthur continued chattering until he comprehended what Gilbert had just said.

"Wait, what? But-"

"His brother is sick und could be dying for all ve know. Back vhen I was human and living vith Ludwig, I vould have done anyzhing for him. Besides, he vas free to go anyvay."

"But how…?"

"Tell zhe servants I am truly sorry that I got zhem into zhis mess in zhe first place, und that I am sorry zhat I have been selfish and lost zhe chance to set zhem all free. It's just…" Gilbert swallowed, the tears he had been holding back now falling freely down his cheeks.

"I love him."


	9. Chapter 8

"HE DID WHAT?" the servants yelled in shock when Arthur told them.

"I afraid it's true." Arthur hung his head.

"The potato bastard just let him leave?" Lovino shrieked.

"But 'e was so close to breaking the curse." Francis' lit candles went out as he took in the news.

"After all this time," Antonio sighed. "He finally learned to care for someone more than himself. He's finally learned to love."

Francis perked up at this. "Zere you go zen, zat should break ze spell!"

Antonio shook his head. "That's not enough. The conditions of the spell were that Gilbert had to fall in love and be loved in return. And I think the words have to be spoken aloud to each other."

As the enchanted objects were trying to console each other, Lovino slipped away. He certainly had a thing or two to tell Matthew if he thought he could get away that easily. As much as Lovino hated Gilbert (as well as just about everybody), he wanted Gilbert to break the spell (after all, being a coffee mug was horrible, what with being afraid of breaking nearly all the time).

"I don't know about those other idiotas, but I am not staying a stupid mug for the rest of my pathetic existence" Lovino grumbled as he hid in Matthew's bag. His plan was simple, to tell off Matthew at the first opportunity and convince him to go back. Even if Matthew didn't want to go, he would still have to take Lovino back anyway. He was confident in his plan.

***  
Matthew leapt off Kumajiro's back the moment he got back home and ran inside to see Alfred (who still had a hamburger on his head). He didn't see Peter run away from the bushes at the sight of Matthew.

"Oh Alfred." Matthew muttered as he came in a saw Alfred's pathetic state. He removed the hamburger and making some soup to feed Alfred.

He reached into his bag to take out some medicine when he felt something move next to his hand. He grabbed it and pulled it out to find Lovino glaring at him.

"Lovino! What are you doing in my bag?"

"What am I doing in there? What the fuck are YOU doing here?" Lovino said angrily. Matthew knew Lovino wouldn't stop talking until he tired himself out, so he busied himself making medicine for Alfred as the mug berated him for leaving.

Matthew was relieved when Alfred let out a weak "Mattie?" as he awoke.

"Don't worry, Alfred. I'm right here." Alfred gasped as he realized that Matthew really was right in front on him and not a hallucination.

"Mattie! You're here! But how did you escape that yeti thing?" Alfred pulled Matthew into a big hug, nearly squashing both of them. Alfred's strength was returning, meaning he was getting better.

"He's not a yeti thing, Alfred. His name is Gilbert and he was a lot nicer than he seemed to be. I could have come back anytime, but I chose to stay. And he remembers me, Alfred. He's my best friend."

"Hey, I'm not done talking to you!" Lovino yelled at Matthew. A knock at the door stopped Matthew from responding to Lovino.

"Can I help you?" Matthew asked as he opened the door to find Ivan Braginski, the owner of the insane asylum at his door. He shrunk back a bit from the tall man, who scared him despite his calm smile.

"I'm here for Alfred Jones. Unless you are Alfred."

"I'm not Alfred. I'm Matthew. But what do you want with Alfred?" Matthew asked, dreading the answer.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of him, da." Ivan said as he waved toward a wagon, which Matthew recognized as belonged to the Maison des Lunes, Ivan's insanity asylum.

"Alfred's not crazy!" Matthew told him firmly as he stepped outside the house. He noticed that nearly the whole village had gathered in front of his house."

"Oh yeah?" Peter jeered. "Well, Jones was raving like a lunatic when you disappeared, claiming you'd been kidnapped by a yeti and furniture. We all heard him." The crowd murmured in agreement.

Matthew rushed into the crowd trying to explain, but no one was paying attention as his brief moment of being recognized faded.

"Poor Mattew." A voice behind him drawled. Matthew turned to see Matthias smirking at him. "Such a shame about Alfred."

Although he hated to have to go to Matthias for help, Matthew knew he was listened to by the villagers. "You know he's not crazy, Matthias. Please tell them that."

"Hmm…" Matthias stroked his chin as if pretending to think. "I might be able to clear this whole thing up…IF…"

"If what?" Matthew asked, trying to distance himself from Matthias.

"If you'll marry me."

"Never." Matthew spat. He was disgusted at how low Matthias would stoop to get his way, going so far as to lock Alfred up.

Matthias' smirk darkened in a scowl. "Have it your way then." he sneered, before ordering the men from the asylum to seize Alfred, who merely fought them off with ease. Matthew couldn't hold in his anger any longer: He punched Matthias in the face, breaking his nose, before running back into the house and grabbing the magic mirror.

"Alfred's not crazy and I can prove it!" he cried out, finally getting the crowd's attention (much to his surprise).

"Show me Gilbert." Matthew ordered the mirror.

The mirror shone bright green before showing Gilbert brooding over the wilting cornflower with only two petals clinging to it. As Matthew watched, one of the petals fell leaving only one remaining.

Matthew held out the mirror toward the crowd who screamed when they saw Gilbert's frightening appearance. Too late, Matthew realized what he had done and tried to calm down the crowd. "It's okay, he's not dangerous. He'd never hurt anyone. He may look scary, and he seemed full of himself when I first met him, but he's really sweet and caring and the best friend anyone could ask for."

He failed to see Matthias growing angry and jealous as Matthew spoke so gently about a MONSTER.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you had feelings for this hideous monster."

Matthew narrowed his eyes. "Gilbert's no monster, Matthias. YOU ARE!"

Matthias snatched the mirror away from Matthew and began addressing the crowd. "This boy is as crazy as his brother. I've hunted wild animals and I've seen what they can do. The beast will try to eat your children and come after us all. I say we go and kill the beast before it gets us!"

No one heeded Matthew as he protested against Matthias and pleaded for someone to listen to him. Matthias continued to urge the crowd with more lies, and they began lighting torches and grabbing pitchforks. Matthew tried to grab the mirror away from Matthias but he held it above Matthew's head before shoving him in his own cellar with Alfred before either could react, saying "We have to lock them up so they don't go warning the creature."

Through the cellar window, Matthew watched the mob leave. He could also see that Matthias had grabbed an axe while figuring out how to get the mirror to show him the way to the castle.

"Oh, I'm going to kill Matthias." Matthew rolled up his sleeves. "Let's do this, Alfred."

Lovino had just made his way to the cellar door holding the key when he heard a loud "HEADS UP!" and he jumped out the way just in time to avoid the broken glass and wood splinters flying in the air as Matthew and Alfred burst out of the cellars. The two had charged the locked doors at the same time and their combined strength had been more than enough to decimate them.

"WATCH IT!" Lovino screeched. "YOU ALMOST BROKE ME YOU DAMN BASTARDS!"

"Well you do have a small chip on your rim." Alfred pointed out causing Lovino to begin cursing again.

"Never mind, we have to warn Gilbert and the other." Matthew said as he ran to Kumajiro, snatching up Lovino with him. Alfred followed him.

The horse gave him a brief "who are you?" look but still let Matthew saddle and mount him. Matthew rode with single-minded determination to get to the castle as soon as possible.

***  
Within the castle, the mood was very subdued. In a room with a window that faced the castle gates, Arthur paced back and forth in front of Francis and Antonio.

"I knew it. We shouldn't have gotten our hopes up." He tried to convince himself.

"Maybe it would 'ave been better if Matthew 'ad never come in ze first place!" Francis huffed, crossing his arms as he stared out the window and jumped back in surprise.

"Sacrebleu! Invaders!" The others rushed over to look.

"The one in front has the mirror! Something must have happened to Matthew!" Antonio rushed to the West Wing.

"Master! The castle is being invaded!" At this, Gilbert looked up from the cornflower. While he felt heartbroken over Matthew, he had to lead his servants. Gilbert was a prince after all and had a duty to his castle and its inhabitants. Fortunately, he was also an excellent military strategist.

"Barricade zhe doors und guard all of zhe entrances und alert the rest of zhe castle. Take anyvone who does not vish to fight or cannot fight to zhe castle cellars. If zhey break through zhe barricade, zhen pretend to be objects, und attack vhen zhey all enter. Have the cutlery defend zhe kitchens, zhe armor defend zhe halls, und I'll defend zhe Vest Ving."

Antonio nodded and left to give the orders to the servants.

Gilbert knew the servants could take care of themselves. Under Francis and Arthur's lead, they could fight off anything. He heard with his keen lupine ears the sound of something pounding again the doors eventually followed by silence and Francis crying "NOW!" before all hell broke lose.

In the midst of the chaos Gilbert caught Antonio yelling "Take this you scum." followed by screams from him most likely after pouring boiling hot coffee on the invaders.

Arthur could be heard screaming "TALLY HO! GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!" before cackling madly and joining the fight. After a few minutes, nearly all of the villagers had run out screaming for their lives.

Gilbert could just make out Arthur snapping at Francis. "Stop kissing me, frog!"

Finally, Gilbert heard footsteps coming up the stairs to the West Wing and coming toward him. The door creaked open and he saw a handsome young man standing before him with blond hair sticking straight up and blue eyes who sneered at him. He carried an axe with him

"You're even uglier in person."

"I'm sorry you zhink zat." Gilbert smirked back. "For I am zhe awesomest person you have ever met so you might as vell give up now."

"Not a chance." Matthias raised the axe and charged at him. Gilbert dodged him but Matthias kicked him through the glass window to the balcony, receiving some scrapes and cuts as a result. In turn Gilbert reached out and scratched Matthias' arm.

The two fell onto a rooftop that was now slippery from the rain that was pouring down. As they wrestled, Matthias began screaming insults at Gilbert, which he ignored until he mentioned Matthew.

"You're in love with Matthew aren't you? Did you really think he could love you, when he had me?" Matthias cackled madly as lightning flashed above. "He despises you and he sent me here to kill you!"

"Zhat is utter bullshit." Gilbert growled. "Did you really zhink I vould buy zhat?"

Matthias would have answered, but from below Gilbert could hear Matthew's voice.

"No! Matthias, leave Gilbert alone!" With renewed vigor, Gilbert continued wrestling with Matthias, both of equal strength and neither winning.

"Just give up already, Matthew is mine!" Gilbert's temper snapped at that. He grabbed Matthias by the throat and held him over the edge of the roof.

"Let me go, please. Don't hurt me. I'll do anything!" Matthias cried as he struggled.

As much as Gilbert wanted to kill him, he realized he couldn't. Matthias was exactly the person Gilbert had been before his curse. He also remembered Matthew saying "No one deserves to die because someone else lacked compassion." Instead of letting Matthias fall, he pulled him back onto the roof.

"Don't talk like zhat about Birdie. He's his own person und belongs only to himself. Now get out." Gilbert growled at Matthias.

"Gilbert!" Gilbert whirled around to see Matthew on the balcony of the West Wing holding out his hand toward him.

"Birdie," he breathed. He climbed up the roof, mindful of the slippery shingles and eventually made it back up to the balcony. Gilbert took Matthew's hand in his own noticing small cuts on the others hand from the splinters and broken glass after breaking out from the cellar. He looked back up at Matthew's smile and got back on the balcony with Matthew before embracing him. "You came back."

Matthew was relieved that he had arrived in time. He had only had enough time to drop off Lovino with Antonio ("Oh mi tomate, you're back!" "Don't touch me."), before running up to the West Wing. He leaned into Gilbert's embrace just before Gilbert roared in pain and Matthew saw Matthias laughing manically, having just dealt Gilbert a fatal wound in his side with his axe.

Matthias was about to swing again but lost his footing on the slick roof and plummeted off the edge with a long and loud scream as he fell into the moat.

Francis, Arthur, and Antonio arrived at the West Wing to see Matthew trying to help Gilbert lay down comfortably, and press Gilbert's cloak against the wound to stop the bleeding. Gilbird who had been flying around frantically during the battle, flew back on top on Gilbert's head, and chirped sadly.

"You…came…back." Gilbert said weakly with a small smile. "I guess…you couldn't stay away…from my awesomeness huh?" He spoke with small gasps as he struggled to take breaths.

"Of course I came back. I couldn't bear to let them hurt you. If only I hadn't been so stupid and told them." Matthew sniffed, trying not to cry.

"Nein…It's not…your fault." He coughed and his breathing became even more ragged. Matthew clutched at the fur on Gilbert's chest.

"Gilbert!"

"Birdie…I…Ich liebe dich. I love you." Gilbert's eyes began to close and Matthew tried to stop him but his pale lids slid over his ruby red eyes.

"No…No!" Tears stung Matthew's eyes and trickled down, joining the light raindrops on his face.

"Gilbert, please don't leave me. You were the only person who remembered me on a constant basis, who really listened when I had something to say, and who could always make me laugh. And you knew how it felt to be lonely. You know that saying 'home is where the heart is'? Well, now I know it's true because…you're my home. My heart is here with you. I was too stupid to realize it before but Gilbert…I love you too."

As Matthew sobbed over Gilbert body, and felt his heartbeat slowing, the last petal fell from the cornflower and its glow faded.


	10. Chapter 9

Matthew wept over Gilbert's limp body. His heartbeat had not stopped and neither had his breath, but both were slowing.

Francis, Arthur, Antonio, and Lovino looked sadly at each other and at the dead cornflower, knowing they were doomed to remain enchanted for the rest of their lives.

The rain continued to fall, yet as it fell, it began sparkling in shades of blue and pink, scattering light onto the balcony. Matthew looked up from Gilbert's chest and gasped in amazement when he saw the magical rain. He felt Gilbert's body shift from underneath him and Matthew withdrew from Gilbert as his body began to rise from the ground. Gilbird took flight and settled on Matthew shoulder as if frightened by what was going on.

Tentatively, Matthew reached out to touch the rain and one of the falling lights hit his hand. It stung a little and Matthew was astonished to see the small cuts on his hand had healed.

Eyes wide in wonder, Matthew watched as Gilbert floated in the midst of the rain, his cloak swirling around him. Then, Gilbert's body emitted a bright golden glow that almost blinded Matthew. Mist drifted up from the ground, hiding Gilbert from view.

A few moments later, the mist cleared and the rain returned to normal. Matthew saw a figure wrapped in Gilbert's cloak descend slowly to the ground as if sinking through water. Matthew inched forward toward the cloaked person but it moved and Matthew backed away.

A very naked young man lay in the folds of the cloak, curled in a fetal position. The moonlight gave his pale skin an almost pearly glow and Matthew's eyes automatically traced the curves of the body and the lean muscles moving under transluscent skin as the man struggled to get up.

The man gasped aloud when he saw his hands, and looked at his feet. He grabbed a foot and wiggled his toes as if to make sure they were real. He finally turned around to reveal that the man was extremely handsome, with bright red eyes and hair as white as snow even though the man was only about two years older than Matthew.

"Birdie!" the man exclaimed, his voice rough and familiar. He threw his arms around Matthew, a broad grin on his face. "It's me!"

"H-huh?" a flabbergasted Matthew stuttered as he backed away from the man. Matthew's eyes and ears were telling him one thing, but his logic and mind was telling him another. It couldn't be Gilbert; he had been dying in Matthew's arms just moments ago. And yet…

Stepping toward the man again, Matthew uncertainly touched his white hair, exactly like Gilbert's fur in color and feel. His face shared some features with Gilbert, but the most telling detail were his eyes, which were precisely the same shade of red as Gilbert's.

The voice, the hair, the way he acted, and his eyes, left little doubt in Matthew's mind. Gilbird flew around the two, and chirped before settling in the man's hair erasing all doubts. Gilbird only did that for one person.

"Vhat? Can't stop looking at my awesomeness?" Gilbert smirked. "Kesesesese," he laughed before Matthew almost knocked him over as he hugged him tightly, crying and laughing at the same time.

"Gilbert, it IS you! And you're naked… But how? I don't understand."

Gilbert smiled and returned the embrace. "Five years ago, I angered a vitch because I was not as awesome zhen as I am now. I refused to let her take shelter in my castle und she turned me into a beast. I could only break zhe spell if I could love somevone und be loved in return. Und you, Birdie, vere the only person awesome enough to love me back und free me despite how unawesome I looked."

"I don't care how you look, Gilbert, but things will be a little easier this way." Matthew told him before pulling him into a kiss. Gilbert responded and the two threw themselves passionately into the kiss before breaking apart for air. "Like that for instance. I couldn't do that when you didn't have lips."

Gilbert sneezed suddenly, startling both of them, making Matthew realized that Gilbert was wet from the rain. He picked up the cloak from the ground and wrapped it around Gilbert's shoulders.

"Danke. Ve should probably go inside though, ve're getting soaked and zhe rain hasn't stopped." The two hurried inside the West Wing, which had undergone a vast transformation, as well as the whole castle. The castle still retained its Gothic architecture but appeared newer and full of life. Much to their amazement and wonder, the dead cornflower had revived as was in full bloom. Four men, all of whom resembled the talking objects that Matthew had befriended, ran toward Matthew and Gilbert.

Francis, who had formerly been the candelabra, now had wavy blond hair and blue eyes and a little stubble on his chin. Arthur the former clock was a slightly shorter man with scruffy blond hair, green eyes, and thick eyebrows. Antonio was tanned with bright green eyes and curly brown hair. He was grinning at Lovino who was now a young man with hazel eyes and dark brown hair with an odd curl on the left side, similar to when he had been a coffee mug.

Lovino marched right up to Gilbert and as if the words were paining him said. "Thank you potato bastard for freeing us. And I hope you appreciate how much it hurt my pride to have to say that to you you damn jerk. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat some tomatoes for the first time in five years!"

"Hey wait for me mi tomate." Antonio called as he hurried after him.

"Don't call me that!"

"But you look just like a tomato when you blush!"

Matthew shook his head with a smile and turned back to Gilbert. "YOU need to put on some clothes."

"Vhat? I vas was valking around vith my five meters hanging out for five years und you never minded."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "That's because you were covered in fur."

"Fine."

The two walked out of the West Wing holding hands leaving Francis and Arthur behind.

"Ah, la'amore." Francis sighed, before seeing Arthur beginning to walk away, leaving Francis free to check out his ass. "Ohonhonhonhon."

"FRANCIS!" Arthur yelped when he felt a hand grab his butt. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just reminding you zat I'm 'ere…and we're both human…" Francis winked, and Arthur blushed furiously.

"What about Michelle?"

"She was merely a fling. Arthur, no one will 'ere for a while."

"…Come here, frog."

And then the two commenced doing unspeakable things to each other that would leave their lower halves aching for hours afterwards.

Many things happened over the next few days. The servants began getting used to being human again and not being afraid of setting curtains on fire by touching them or breaking if they fell.

The castle had been transported back to its rightful place in Gilbert's country (fortunately Alfred and Kumajiro had been in the castle grounds at the time). Kumajiro still never remembered Matthew, but he didn't mind. Alfred eventually befriended an alien but people were still skeptical about his claims. Gilbert was finally reunited with his brother Ludwig, and Ludwig's husband, Feliciano, a hyper Italian who happened to be Lovino's brother. Lovino was not happy when he found out his brother was married to "the damn potato eater's fratello."

Much to Gilbert's surprise, Matthew was the one who proposed to him. The two were married in a relatively small ceremony (and even then some people had a hard time remembering one of the grooms' name).

But Matthew and Gilbert didn't mind. As long as they had each other, they would live happily ever after through all of life's difficulties.

And do you know what? They did.


End file.
